Secret Santa Snake aka Michael's Secret Santa
by DianaGohan
Summary: This year's Christmas story from me.  And this year it's Snake and Samus who have to play secret Santa.  But why are they helping Michael and what exactly is his story? Find out in this rather touching little Christmas tale


Okay everyone here is this year's Christmas story. Now originally I wanted to do a bunch of Christmas stories for Smash Brothers (like about seven) involving a lot of the other various smashers, and have them all take place at about the same time with only a minimal connection between the stories. That didn't really peak out though. Some of the ideas weren't really fleshed out, some of the stories didn't even seem "Christmas" themed and well I've been having a lot of computer and general life problems lately that made me unable to get working on a bunch stories. So this year we only have one smaller story compared to say the bigger concepts found in "Ganondorf's Secret Santa" and especially "R.O.B's Secret Santa". I still think this is a very solid idea though and hey maybe I'll make offshoot stories based on some of the ideas I had for other holidays. For now though enjoy this Christmas story. As usual nothing belongs to me. It belongs to Nintendo, Konami and Sony, and really only this idea is actually mine. With that said enjoy this little story everyone and have a very, merry Christmas.

"Michael's Secret Santa"

By DianaGohan.

It was once again Christmas time around the Smash Manor. The tree had been trimmed, the stockings had been hung, and all the decorations had been set. However even though it was only a couple of days away from Christmas, not all the gifts had been acquired yet. Though some smashers liked to get a jump on holiday shopping, others had a bad habit of waiting till the last minute. Some due to being lazy and letting the holiday season creep on them sooner than they would have wanted. Or maybe just not knowing what to get their assigned "secret Santa" or others for the holiday. Ironically enough, it was usually these people, by sheer luck, coincidence, or assistance from those who didn't wait to shop, that wound up getting the best gifts. And that was certainly most true of this holiday season...

Early afternoon only a couple scant days before Christmas, bounty huntress Samus Aran was shown briskly walking down the third floor of the mansion. She was adorn in her usual winter wear (a black jacket over a dark blue jacket, purple snow pants, brown gloves, black boots and a red snowcap), looking around at the festive decorations.

_'Master Hand really should try getting some new decorations' she_ thought to herself, gently placing her hand along the wall _'I mean, most of these have been around since the first tournament' She_ then quickly thought back to inspecting the halls years ago, back before even the "hidden" fighters of the original tournament had been brought in seeing the same decorations. Back then, she simply tilted her head confused (in her Varia suit armor) at what was going on before making her way to one of the stages to do some solo training. The little flashback ended as she rubbed one of the lines of tinsel along the walls and smiled at it some. _'Then again nothing wrong with tradition I suppose. Even if bits of said tradition are starting to look a little worse for wear.' _She then moved her hand away from the wall as she continued walking along the hall.

Before she made more then a couple of feet though, a voice boomed along the hallway. "SAMUS ARAN" the voice said, alerting the bounty hunter who gazed around her. "YOU ARE NEEDED FOR A SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT."

It took a few seconds for Miss Aran to go from confused to annoyed as she rolled her eyes. "Really? Are we honestly doing this? Haven't you learned this dosen't work on me?"

"YOU THINK I AM PLAYING GAMES?" The voice said, continuing to boom around the hall. "THIS IS AN UPMOST SERIOUS MATTER."

Samus simply sighed, putting one hand on her hip as she closed her eyes. "Okay fine, I'll play along." She opened her eyes again, a false look of fear appearing on her face. "Oh no, a mysterious spooky voice. What do you want from me, oh terrigying spirit?" she said, as sarcastically as possible.

"YOU ARE NEEDED FOR A MORE DANGEROUS AND EXHILIRATING MISSION THEN YOU EVER COULD OF IMAGINED" The voice continued booming in a serious infliction. "IF YOU DECLINE THIS REQUEST, HUNDREDS UPON THOUSANDS WILL SUFFER, IN WAYS YOU COULD HAVE NEVER IMAGINED-"

"Found you." In a split second, Samus took out her paralyzer gun and held it above her head. She quickly fired her plasma whip, hitting the ceiling right above her. The whip slammed into something as a thud was heard right in front of Samus, even though nothing was seen in front of the bounty hunter. "You really need to try better hiding spots."

"Well around you anyway" said a voice as something then appeared in front of Samus. It was revealed to be Solid Snake lying on the ground (in usual attire). He quickly got up though and smirked, lightly dusting himself off. "You know that would of fooled anyone else."

Samus tilted her head. "Is that supposed to be some sort of half-baked compliment?"

"Well that or a halfhearted insult towards everyone else."

The bounty huntress then pointed over to a cardboard box on the other side of the hall. "I think everyone hear would know your "hide in invisible camouflage somewhere in the hallway and only pretend to be in the suspicious box right next to them" trick by now."

"Ah, but how many would of guessed I was actually sneaking on top of the ceiling? The Gekkos wouldn't of guessed that in a million years."

"Yeah well have the Gekkos been living with you at the mansion?" the huntress asked.

Snake quickly took out a grenade. "Nah, and even if they WERE living here, if I knew about it they wouldn't for very long" he stated before putting his weapon away.

Samus sighed again and turned away from Snake, crossing her arms. "Do you actually want something? Since you know, I do have better things to do then hear how only semi-stealthy you are."

"What, take a walk around the mansion grounds and play in the snow?" Snake said in a sarcastic voice. "Yeah, that's real important." Samus started to walk away from Snake as the mercenary sighed and held out his hand. "Wait hold on" he said, running over to Samus. "I do actually need your help for something."

Samus then turned around, looking directly into his eyes. "Such as?"

The Foxhound mercenary then actually rubbed his neck appearing a bit embarrassed. "Well... you remember the last holiday season when we exchanged gifts, right?"

"I remember you gave me some money you found lying in your pocket and tried to claim that a gift."

"Yeah... that" Snake looked down annoyed. "I may be many things, but I guess there's no harm in admitting one of those isn't a shopper."

"You can say that again!" yelled out Otacon over Snake's codec. "Do you want to know what he got me last Christmas? A grenade! One that was SOMEHOW timed to explode when I opened the box."

"Hey I was testing an ignition device YOU came up with" Snake pointed out. "That worked flawlessly by the way, so I don't know what you're complaining about. I mean it's not like it was even all that lethal."

"It blew my eyebrows off!" Otacon shouted.

"Like I said, technically not lethal" Snake commented as Otacon was heard fuming.

"What about my gift last year?" Said an annoyed Mei-Ling over the codec. "That download program had malware that wiped out my entire hard drive, even the backups! Do you know how much anti-virus I had to buy from my own pocket to get rid of that?"

"Hey that was your own fault" Snake pointed out. "You were going to keep those pictures of me as some kind of angel kid. You really think I was going to let that happen?"

"Couldn't you of just hacked the files you wanted to get rid of?"

"Oh don't play innocent with me. I know you would of made backups to backup of that I wouldn't of been able to trace so I had to get rid of everything" Snake stated as Mei Ling was heard screaming an ancient Chinese dialect at Snake.

Samus laughed a bit at this as Snake focused his attention back on her. "Wow, guess I really did luck out of your shopping circle last year" she said, stifling her laughter.

"The point is, this year I need to get an actual gift for someone" Snake said, looking up at the ceiling. "And I'm not going to trust myself to luck out and find something great last minute."

Samus pointed at him. "And let me guess: you want my help, right?" He looked into her eyes and nodded. "So who are you getting a gift for anyway? Cause if it's someone for your team you should try turning your codec off."

Snake shook his head. "Nah I already have gifts picked out for them."

"They better be good this year Snake!" Otacon was heard roaring.

"Especially if you don't want certain Intel about yourself to be revealed" Mei-Ling warned.

"... Trust me though, if I could take that other piece of advice, I would" Snake said, lightly jabbing his forehead i few times in frustration.

"So who is the gift for then?" Samus asked, fairly curious. "You're Smasher Secret Santa?"

"Nah, especially since this year it's Master Hand and he may not even be around for Christmas."

"Huh, I didn't hear that" Samus said, appearing a bit concerned. "Where does that information come from?"

"That's what he said this morning before he teleported off. He didn't give a reason why but it seemed important" Samus then looked down, biting her lip a bit as Snake moved closer. "Hey you shouldn't worry about him. You know, Omni potent god like entity. One who can surely take care of himself."

Samus looked back up and nodded. "Yeah I guess it's just..." she sighed and shook her head. "No you're right, he'll be fine. I shouldn't worry if I don't need to" she then looked back at him. "So who did you need help picking out a gift for anyway?"

"Michael" Snake simply uttered, as Samus just looked at him confused. "Yeah, you wouldn't really know him. And in truth, I don't really either."

"Then why do you care about getting him a gift?"

"Don't you mean why do WE care about getting him a gift?"

"What's this we coming from?" Samus crossed her arms. "Last I checked, I didn't agree to help you yet."

"Wait, what?" Snake stood right in front of her, the two starring directly into the other's eyes. "I asked you to help me out and you said yes."

"No, you asked for my help and I asked who it's for. I didn't necessarily agree to anything yet."

Snake narrowed his eyes. "I thought you were supposed to be more happy and joyous this time of the year, eager to lend a helping hand and what not."

"If someone asks nicley for it sure" Samus held out one finger right in front of his face. "That someone wasn't you. At least not yet."

Snake rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to beg you to help me pick out a gift you know."

"I didn't say anything about begging. I said ask nicely."

"Didn't I already do that?"

Samus rolled her eyes. "You tried tricking me you were some divine voice and then spent time ragging on your team-mates for the crummy gifts you gave them last year. That's your definition of nice? Does that mean your definition of asking regularly would be to knock me out from behind, tie me up and force me at gunpoint for assistance?"

Snake smirked some. "Actually tying you up and forcing you to do things at gunpoint sounds pretty nice. Though more the hot kind of nice if you know what I mean."

Samus rolled her eyes again. "Well not for me" she then tapped him on the shoulder. "Look if you want my help in picking out a gift, all you need to is say a certain word. Just say that and I'll be glad to help you out."

"You want to play guessing games now?"

"It shouldn't be a guessing game. I mean what does someone usually have to say to get you to do something you wouldn't normally do."

"Usually "Snake it's a matter of worldwide security" or "it's your job. You knew what you were in for when you signed up" or "too bad but this is nuclear war and saying no once has already led to a dozen deaths." You know things like that."

"Yeah but this isn't a mission of life or death. This is a trip to the mall, or other shopping center to pick out a gift. That means there's a word you need to say first, before I go help you out with that." Snake stared blankly at her. "I'll give you a hint: it begins with a p."

"Uh... problematic?"

"No."

"Pressing?"

"No."

"Hmmm... oh is it pus-"

"Definitely not that one." Samus said looking a bit exasperated.

"Then give me a second" Snake tapped his codec a couple of times as Samus just stared at him blankly. "Come on I know you're listening in!" He said angrily. "Just tell me the word she wants."

"Snake, how can one be so knowledgeable and such a great asset on so many things, but then be so clueless on the most obvious?" asked an annoyed Mei-Ling.

"Hey, my specialties are blasting things to pieces and going around without being detected, not word play" Snake pointed out. "That's something I count more on you to get."

"Okay, then here's a hint: something you should always say when calling on our services, yet seem to always get by without it being uttered."

"This isn't time for one of your riddles" Snake asked annoyed. "Just give me the word."

"It's please Snake" Otacon finally chimed in. "As in please help me in picking out a gift."

"Oh" Samus focused back on Samus. "What the nerd said."

"Hey!" Otacon whined.

The Intergalactic bounty huntress shook her head slowly before focusing on Snake again. "Fine, I'll help you. Since it's obvious you need all the help you can get on realizing something right in front of you."

Snake heard laughter from Otacon and Mei-Ling's channel and groaned. "Yeah laugh at the guy whose actions are the only reason you're still around. That's real fair" he sarcastically uttered under his breath before focusing on Samus. "So where were we before all that pointlessness?"

"Well before I agreed to help, which I don't see as pointless since you're the one who came to me, you were telling me how the guy we're shopping for is named Michael, and you were telling me which Michael. Who the only thing I know about is... you don't really even know this man."

"Ah, that. Well it's kind of a long story" Snake moved over to one of the doors in the hallway and opened it. Samus walked closer to him as Snake pointed in the room at the TV. "You see there's this ad for the PlayStation 3 where-"

"Oh wait, you mean the one where all you Sony characters cheer for some player named Michael over and over again for actually playing all of your games, despite probably being one of the millions whose online accounts were hacked only a few months ago."

"Uh... yeah that one" Snake said, a bit surprised. "I thought you didn't really watch television."

"Well I saw the ad online a couple of times" Samus admitted, looking over at him. "I was kind of surprised to see you so elderly in it. Wasn't that issue fixed?"

"Yeah but I had to look like I did in MSG4 so you know they had to apply make-up and.." Snake held out his hand. "Look we're getting off topic."

"Okay well here's a more on topic question then" Samus pointed at Snake. "Why bother going out of your way to get something for such a stoic kid? Certainly Sony would of just given him enough games based off your and other adventures to keep him happy playing them in his room for years, right?"

"Yeah, but that isn't the Michael I'm talking about" Snake was then show appearing at a board meeting with other people (soldiers, demigods, assassins, Yakuza, Sackboys and various others) crowded around a group of important looking officials. "See as part of a good will for the holidays and in order to get in people's good graces again, Sony's started another charity. This time one to help out underprivileged, orphan kids and get them gifts they normally wouldn't be able to obtain. And when I said Sony would get them those gifts, I mean they would get their employees' i.e. me and various others, to get them presents." The flashback ended as Snake sighed. "And ironically enough one of the ones I'm supposed to give a present to also happen to be named Michael, even though this kid has nothing to do with that other player. Since instead of being a stoic shut in, he's an orphaned lung cancer patient."

Samus's eyes went wide at this revelation. "I... see" she said, looking down sadly. "I've heard of that disease before but never heard of anyone actually having it."

"That probably makes sense considering from what timeline you're from" Snake's voice got even lower and huskier then it usually was. "It's definitely not a fun experience though. I actually got to see the kid the other day in his hospital bed. All he was able to do was weakly cough out and drift in and out of consciousness. He's gotten treatment since but... from what I read of the doctor's reports they don't even know if it's a type that can be cured or not." Samus just looked down blankly, gulping some as Snake cleared his throat. "Uh, is there something wrong?"

"Oh uh... no I'm fine" she said softly. "Just seems so awful, having to look forward to nothing put pain and possible death for Christmas."

"Well that's where I come in" Snake said pointing at himself. "I'm sure with your help we can find something to brighten the kid's holiday. Don't you think so?"

Samus thought for a second and nodded. "Definitely" she said, a smile appearing on her face. "Even if I have to be the one to pick it out."

"Well then come on. Let's get shopping then" he then rushed over to the other side of the hallway pointing over to the elevator. Samus followed him as the two quickly boarded it as Snake pressed the "H" button.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Samus asked as the door closed, the device lurching them downward. "Why are we going to hangar?"

"There's no way I'm walking back and forth to the mall at this time of the year" Snake pointed out. "This is where everyone's at their craziest, even on the streets. And I would like to avoid that as much as possible for this mission."

"Well it's not going to be any better driving there" Samus pointed out. "It's supposed to snow pretty hard later this morning and do you really want to be driving around trying to figure out a parking spot-"

"Who said anything about driving?" Snake smirked as the elevator stopped. The two exited as they looked around the Hangar Area. This was a 1/4 mile below the mansion, where all the smashers with cars, carts, and crafts parked and could exit through various underground parts that connected to roads and air zones outside the mansion. "That's what we're taking" he said pointing at a familiar looking craft.

Samus saw Snake was pointing at her orange Gunship. "And you weren't going to even ask my permission to use my gunship" she dryly noted.

"Well what's the point, if you're the one who's going to be driving? Unless of course, you don't want to. And then I could-"

"Yeah don't even think about that" she said holding out her hand, walking over to it. "You should just be lucky I always carry the keys for this with me so we don't have to go back up."

"Well if you didn't I could just try breaking the door and hacking your navigation" Snake said with a smirk.

Samus pressed a button as a hole in the ship opened. "Wow, it's sure a mystery on why you're single with that kind of attitude" she sarcastically noted.

"That's just the way I like it" he retorted back as the two were beamed aboard the ship. _'Well sometime, anyway' _ he thought, as the two were soon taking off through a hole in the port and heading out into the strangely lukewarm for this time of the year afternoon sky.

About an hour later we pan over to inside a nearby mall, about ten miles away from the mansion. Among the hustle and bustle of various people crowding (and some even shoving) to move along to get from store to store, we see Samus standing in front of a J Crew store.

"Oh come out already" Samus requested, crossing her arms. "You can't hide in there forever."

"I'm not hiding" retorted Snake's voice as Samus was poked on the shoulder by an unseen finger. "And I'm not technically in there either."

"Camouflage counts as hiding" she pointed out as some people turned to her, looking confused. "Now turn visible again. People are starting to stare."

"Yeah, stare at you, crazy" Snake muttered as his optical camouflage broke up. Instead of his normal attire, the foxhound mercenary was in a far different ensemble. He was wearing a dark green T-shirt, brown sweater, black cargo pants and brown dress shoes, with a brown fedora hat turned slightly to the left on his head. "Seriously, I do not know how you talked me into this" he muttered, fidgeting with the sweater some.

"Well sorry, I thought they would of taught you that the first rule about stealth was blending into your environment" Samus sarcastically noted. "And wearing a gray jumpsuit crawling with weapons isn't the most inconspicuous thing to have on in a mall."

"I get that, but why this high end clothing store? Why not get something cheap and quick?"

"Nothing wrong with trying to look good for once" Samus teased, fixing his collar some. "Besides I paid for it, so why are you complaining about money?"

"Just doesn't seem like something worth worrying about" Snake then gently moved her hand back. "I thought of all the women in the mansion you would agree with me on that. Don't you hate getting dressed up?"

"Yeah, but a hat and a sweater are not really dressed up."

Snake sighed as he then turned and started walking away from the store, Samus following him. "Well they don't really make good gifts either. Why did you keep suggesting outfits for the kid in there anyway? You really think he cares about that?"

"Hey, some people appreciate getting new clothes for Christmas you know" Samus stated, popping up on Snake's right.

"Yeah well boys don't. Especially with what you were trying to pick out."

"I didn't say that as the gift anyway. I said as more of an extra thing." Samus thought back to her own childhood for a second, looking down. "When you grow up with nothing, sometimes it's nice just to even have the option of more than just one article of clothing to wear" she breathed out.

"Like I said, guys don't care about those kinds of things, so remember what we're here for."

"Right right" she then rushed ahead of Snake to a large fold out display. She quickly took a small book from it and walked back to the mercenary. "Okay well here's the map of the mall" she said unfolding it and looking through the stores. "I'm sure you've done some snooping of what Michael liked before this, right? So what's the Intel lowdown on that?"

"Didn't I already give you that?" Snake asked her.

Samus shook her head. "You gave me physical details. I know he's ten years old with black hair, and a lot of other details that doesn't seem particular important, but you never gave me a paper with likes or anything."

"Oh yeah, printed that out on another sheet. Should of handed that one to you as well" Snake admitted sheepishly before clearing his throat. "In that case, I'll just tell you. First off, obviously he is, or at least was a gamer. That's why he's part of Sony's charity" Snake said looking at the map. "And there's a GameStop in the corner on the second floor."

"Hmmm, I didn't even know GameStop still existed" Samus admitted. "I thought that went the way of Blockbuster Video and GamePro."

"Nah, there are some still around" Snake commented, looking over to see a crowded esclator leading to the second floor of the mall. "Too bad the one in here's going to take some pushing through to get to."

"Maybe not" Samus said looking at the floor above them pointing at one of the railways. "With a good enough jump I can plasma wire edge grab to the next floor."

"Yeah, though dosen't that go against your "don't try and look conspicuous in public" attitude you had before?"

"Not necessarily" she leaned over and whispered something in his ear. Snake quickly nodded and grabbed Samus's shoulder. The two were then covered in optical camouflage, rendering them invisible. Samus then jumped with Snake in the air, using plasma wire to grab the railing of the second floor and pull them up to the top. The two hopped over the railing as Snake turned off the camouflage.

"Have to admitt that was a pretty good idea" Snake said smirking at Samus. "Definitely the best one you've had since we've come here."

The intergalactic bounty hunter sighed to herself. "You really need to work on your compliments" she noted as the two walked into the GameStop.

"Greetings" the two turned to see a teenager with light brown hair, wearing black shoes, pants and a shirt, the later having a "GameStop" label on it along with a name tag that said "Chris" as he waved at the two. "my name is Chris and welcome to GameStop. Is there anything in particular you are looking for on this fine holiday?"

"Good question" Samus said, tilting her head over at Snake. "So what's the answer?"

Snake directed his focus at Chris. "Well just direct us over to the PS3 section and we'll figure out the rest" Chris then pointed over to the back of the store as the two made their way over to the sector.

"Hmmm..." Samus thumbed her way through a few games before pulling something out. "Ah, how about this?" She asked pulling out a copy of Little Big Planet 2. "He a fan of make it yourself platformers?"

"Yeah, since from what I found out he got the original but never found time to play the sequel" Snake smirked and pulled out another game. "Of course, there's certainly nothing wrong with this title either."

Samus looked at the box art, her eyes narrowing. "That's your game."

"And?"

"And that's something a ten year old should play?"

"Eh, why not? I never got the point to the ratings system for games anyway. Unlike me, it's not like the kids actually experiencing what went on" Snake then looked at the cover for Metal Gear Solid 4, looking a bit disturbed. "You know I never saw the actual game up close before. Feels creepy holding a virtual experience of something I actually went through."

"Eh, I'm sure celebrities who thumb through their own bio-pics feel the same way" Samus noted. "Besides not like the game account is totally accurate, right?"

"Maybe, maybe not" Snake said with a knowing smile. He then took the game (along with the one Samus picked, a controller and memory stick) and went to the register, the female bounty hunter following behind him.

Samus looked to see Chris standing behind the register. "Hey weren't you the guy who greeted us?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Even during this time of the year we don't get much business, so there aren't a lot of hires right now."

_'So I guess I was half right about them being out of business' _she quickly noted to herself.

"Let's see..." he then took the items and started scanning them, looking over at the two. "Would you like our GameStop rewards plan? You get guaranteed money off for every purchase and special deal for pre-orders."

"Nah, I'm not really type to sign on for something so trivial" Snake noted.

Chris started at him a bit weirdly. "Okay..." he then put the items in a bag. "Okay that comes to... $120.93."

"No problem" Snake then turned to Samus. "You think you can spot me some?"

"How much is some?"

"All" Samus glared as Snake pointed to a sign on the back. "They don't take my card here."

Thinking for a moment, the intergalactic bounty hunter shrugged and took out a card and handed it over to Chris. "Fine, but next time you're getting the bill." The clerk quickly swiped it and handed the card back to Samus. And within a few seconds, the two had left the store as Samus stretched some, looking over at Snake. "So guess that's that then" she said looking up at him. "Unless you're in the mood to get things for more people."

The mercenary sighed annoyed. "I'm never in the mood for shopping, but this won't due." He dangled the bag of games. "This isn't a good enough gift for the kid."

"I think MY money should have something to say about that" Samus retorted.

"I just mean that isn't enough" Snake looked down coldly. "You don't just give this to someone who doesn't have time left. Especially not a kid..." Snake continued muttering as he started walking away with Samus.

"What exactly is HIS deal?" Samus wondered, before shaking her head and following after Snake.

This process continued for a couple of hours. Looking through the notes Snake had written down about young Michael, Samus pointed out various stores and shops the child would be interested. A toy shop (obtaining a bunch of Legos and dinosaur figures) an electronics boutique (picking out a DVD player and some enjoyable recent movies, like Winnie the Pooh and Captain America) and even the incredibly rare to find pretty much anywhere nowadays comic book shop (When looking through backlogs Samus was shocked at finding herself in some old Captain N comics, and then annoyance at reading how her character was treated). Even in the crowded shops and even in standing in some rather long lines, they were accumulating a lot of gifts, and yet Samus had quickly realized something was wrong.

And why had she thought that? Probably because most places it was the same story: purchasing on Samus's card because Snake couldn't cover it. Which ticked off Samus considering it was his idea to go shopping but not as much as what he always said next.

"This just isn't enough. We need to find something else."

Even if it wasn't that exact line, it was some variation of it. Nothing they obtained no matter how "perfect" it seemed for Michael made Snake feel satisfied about their shopping. This had begun to seriously grate on the bounty hunter's nerves. It had started first being simply perplexed at Snake's reasoning, or lack thereof. Which started to boil into irritation the more this dragged on as they wandered all the way around the mall. He had this point even dropped saying anything else after the line, or even really chipping in with ideas on what else to get. Just simply agreeing at first, taking it up to buy, and then saying they needed something else.

This finally stopped after exiting the even rarer in this day and age shop that sold mostly CDs instead of any other form of media. "So Snake, what do you think now?" Samus asked, more than a twinge of irritation in her voice.

"We need to go somewhere else" he commented. "This just isn't good enough-"

Faster than even the mercenary would expect, Snake found himself slammed into the wall of a nearby shop. He found a hand wrapped around his neck as Samus moved right in front of him. Close enough that Snake could see one of her left eye starting to throb. "Okay, enough of this!" she hissed in a fairly loud tone, though still not screaming. "I'm tired of getting nowhere."

"What do you mean nowhere? We've been around this entire mall at least a few times."

"That's exactly my point!" She turned around quickly to see if anyone was looking at them. However since everyone was still focusing on shopping and seemed more focus on what was in front of them then even what was on their side, no one approached them as she took the opportunity to lean in closer. "We should of been around here enough times for you to realize if what Michael wanted was actually here. Or if we need to go somewhere else to buy him what he ACTUALLY needs. Instead of you know, the things that we, and by we I mean usually ME, buy that you keep saying aren't good enough."

"Hey, you agreed to help me" Snake pointed out.

"There's a difference in helping someone and just guiding them around doing essentially nothing to further their goals." She pointed around. "There's a reason I get my shopping done early you know: to avoid this type of busy, high pitched stress you usually find at this time of the year. And actually knowing truly what I want to get before purchasing it, not getting it and then continuing on like nothing happened."

Snake then blinked a few times and sighed. "Fine if you want me just to pay for everything I'll do it. I didn't know you cared so much about money-"

"It's, not, the, MONEY!" Samus emphasized smacking him further into the wall. She leaned close enough that their foreheads were touching as she starred into his eyes. "I am just sick and tired of all my ideas and suggestions being thrown out like they were nothing. Didn't you ask for my help because you weren't sure of what to get? Well you seem to have changed your mind on that in the time we were here."

"No I haven't" Snake said defensively, actually pushing Samus back some. "I don't have a problem with anything you picked out."

"Then why do you keep saying it isn't good enough then? What would exactly be good enough for you, huh? Golden bricks? World peace? A-"

"We're not talking about me!" Snake said raising his voice some. He sighed and cleared his throat, Samus moving her hand off it. "I'm sure if I had a normal childhood, everything you gave would be heaven for me. But it isn't enough for Michael."

"And you know that because..."

"Because what gift is good enough to give someone who may not be around much longer? Someone whose own life is decaying faster then everyone else around them? Someone who only gets a shortened existence, and doesn't know what to do to make that count?" Samus starred at him confused as Snake kneeled down, looking around coldly.

Kneeling down as well Samus moved closer to him, starring feircly into his eyes but not with the same rage as before. "Are you sure this isn't just about you?" She asked, in a somewhat concerned tone.

Sighing some, Snake actually sat on the ground, Samus following suit as they put the bagged gifts between them. "The others who are also getting things for the kid think it's a game" the mercenary whispered, sounding ticked. "Like it's a contest between them on who is the greatest champion gift giver. Like that's what all this is about, even though it isn't." Looking away from the bounty hunter, Snake began whispering in a far gentler voice. "I know you've been through a lot Samus. I know you've seen more and lost more and experienced things some people couldn't even stomach hearing about. But there's one thing I don't think you've had to worry about: a very, VERY limited existence you had no control of whatsoever."

The Zebes Bounty Huntress just stared into his eyes. _'Has Snake ever talked like this before?' _ She asked herself. _'What shortened lifespan is he...' _ a thought then sprang into Samus head, shocking her some as Snake continued to speak.

"For the longest time I didn't really know much about either of my parents" Snake whispered out. "Probably because even though every kid wants to imagine they're grow up to be the best and greatest at anything, once you know the terrors of what it means to be "Greatest Warrior" and that your entire existence as a solider was planned out before birth, who would even want to grow up thinking they were just a clone? A tool to be used, and then thrown away when it wasn't needed" images of various battles, wars and fights went through Snake's mind, explosions throwing him through the memories at an alarming rate. "I never really had a choice in the matter. It was more than just in my genes: it was my genes. And even if you can argue fate or destiny, you can't argue that."

Without even thinking, Samus reached over and squeezed Snake's hand lightly. "You don't have to hold that pain inside, you know" the bounty hunter looked down sadly. "There's nothing wrong with sharing it, especially with people who would understand."

"I know" Snake said, quickly returning the gesture. "Though honestly that doesn't bother me that much." He then pictures facing off against Liquid Snake, Gray Fox and even the various members of the Beauty and the Beast unit and taking them out in various ways. "Trust me, you grow to like being known as the guy who made the impossible possible, the one who could walk into any battle and find a way to crawl his way out, and actually see he was making a difference. That's not what bothers me. It was the degeneration that I couldn't stand" Snake then slammed his hand on the ground. "After the big shell incident I found my mind, my body and even my spirit weakening. And not just in a mid-life crisis kind of way. I mean literally one day I blinked and I was 30 something, and the next I was 60, inside and out." He flash backed to talking to a woman about this and screaming out in frustration. "Naomi informed me my planned genetics may have made me a perfect solider, but like everything in life there's always a downside. And mine was rapid age acceleration. Even if I could withstand nuclear annihilation again and again, I could have still died before even reaching 40. And there wasn't anything I could do about it."

Samus simply sat there for a minute, sighing. "You're right about one thing at least: I wouldn't know how to deal with that. I mean between my training and even Metroid DNA my life has only expanded, not lessened. And all I know about cloning is what I've seen from that monster Ridley, and I usually make sure one of him doesn't live a long healthy lifespan."

"Hey, don't act so glum about that" Snake said, gently taping her on the forehead. "You should know by now that my story at least has a happy ending" he then recalled finally destroying all the Patriots and walking off. "And meeting with my dad again in I don't even know how much I resolved to make the most of my limited days to finally take a break from the wars and combat and actually spend some time at peace. Which didn't really last that long" An Old Snake is shown then being visited by Master Hand. "As I'm sure you know Time and Space don't really mean much to Master Hand who wanted me to join his tournament. And actually restored a lot of the years the cloning process took away, and stabilized my genetics so I wouldn't ever have to worry about such a thing again."

"Yeah I heard that, though I still never found out how exactly he accomplished doing that."

"Like I said, why worry about what a mystical, dimension breaking demi-god can do? The point is, I got my time back and could grow old naturally without having to worry about wasted time" the flashbacks ended as Snake pointed at himself. "But that's an experience I never, and will never forget. I spent a half decade living each day fearing I could collapse dead the next day. About my body not being able to carry me securely like everyone else. About how in a world of limited mortality, mine seemed even feebler" he then quickly got up, Samus staring at him. "This is why, in a way I can understand what that kid's going through. I'm sure having cancer is even worse than accelerated aging, but I know what it's like to live on bothered time. To feel death all around you and just wonder when he comes knocking. And it has to be even worse to be just a kid feeling this on this time of the year no less" he then pointed at the bags. "Look I'm sorry if you think I'm just dumping on you because trust me, I'm not. And I wouldn't want to waste someone's time who I actually thought mattered. It's just that no matter how great these gifts are, it's not enough. Not enough to give him the comfort of losing to death. Of actually cheering up his Christmas and guaranteeing he'll live to see another one, and many more after that. I just want to... well... find something like what I got, you know? A guarantee, some actual security. Just... something that really honestly would turn his holiday around."

Samus got up as well; her eyes shaking a bit as she quickly wiped them, looking down sadly. "I... wish you had told me that earlier" she said, putting a hand on her own heart. "Because if that's what you wanted to give him, the actual gift you thought mattered I... would have done a lot better job trying to find it."

"Hey it's not your fault" Snake gave a small smirk. "Not like you can actually shop around for a miracle."

"No, but with hard work and faith, you can make them happen" she said, tightening her left arm into a fist. "Remember, we helped make one last year. All of us worked together and saved thousands of lives. Surely we can do one this..." Samus then thought for a second, moving closer to Snake. "Correct me if I'm wrong on this Snake, but you said that Michael had a type of lung cancer, correct?"

Snake nodded. "Yeah, it's the kind I highlighted on that paper I gave you on his stats."

Samus pulled up the paper again, looking over it and smiling some. "Just what I hoped" she said as Snake starred at her confused. "We're going to make that miracle happen after all."

"Uh, what are you talking about?" he said confused.

Samus smiled. "Trust me. This time my gift is going to be good enough. Before that though..." she smiled, eying a costume nearby and grinning even wider. "We're going to need to make another wardrobe change."

"Why?" Said an annoyed Snake.

"All a part of the plan" Samus pointed at him. "And this time, you're paying. Even if you have to pawn off some of your gear to pay for it."

"Pay for what?" Snake asked. Samus didn't respond and simply grabbed his hand tightly as Snake found himself being dragged to the costume shop. "Why do I have the feeling I'm also going to be paying in dignity?" he asked himself before he was ushered into the shop.

A couple of hours later we then pan over to a Hospital at least a couple of hundred miles away from the Smash Manor. It was about 8:30PM and night had fallen hours ago, though there were enough lights around to see what was going on. We specifically pan over to a hospital bed on the first floor where a young boy (about 10 years old with shaggy black hair) wearing a white hospital gown is sitting alone in his room. He is shown reaching over towards a present wrapped in a red and green box and gently shaking it.

"Wonder..." he then coughs a few times, his hands shaking some as he looks at the box. "Who this is one is from?" He then looks at the box. "From... Desmond? Who's... achew achew achew... that?"

Suddenly a man dressed all in white (even a long white hood) is shown looking through the window, clinging to the wall as tightly as he can. "Come on fair warrior Michael! You must remember how we fought our way through the past to find a way to stop the second solar flare!"

"Couldn't you just have put shades on?" a voice asked. The mysterious cloaked man Desmond tried grabbing the figure which quickly jumped out of the way of his grasp.

Desmond then glared at it. "Oh, it is simply that mutant abomination."

"I keep telling you I'm a Lombax" said the voice, revealing to be an anthropomorphic orange cat creature (wearing black pants and a brown belt with various weapons around it) with a gray metallic robot on its backside. "How many times must I say that before you get it through your head?"

"Considering you have already stated it about 35 times already Ratchet, I suspect about 32 more times before the point becomes clear" the robot calculated.

"Thanks Clank" Ratchet stated, pointing his wrench over at Desmond. "Though I'm only going to tell you this one more time: that isn't the Michael that played through your stupid title."

"There was nothing foolish about my quest to save my world!" Desmond yelled out. "It was a perilous adventure with many twists and turns and-"

"Oh...what is this?" asked Michael, pulling a rather sharp sickle knife from the box. "I... don't think I should try using that" he said, putting it away delicatley before quickly putting the box away.

Desmond sighed. "Yet again I have come back to this time for another anticlimactic finding."

"Well what do you expect when you tried to get the kid a knife?" Ratchet asked, shaking his head. "You better be glad I took care of the other hospital workers around, otherwise that would of already been taken away."

"There was no need to assassinate any employees here" Desmond stated. "Trust me if there were, I would of done it myself already."

"I meant non lethally, you psycho" Ratchet held out a large silver gun looking weapon. "Yup, thanks to the Morph-O-Ray we can get through this gift exchange with the guards being too chicken to do anything about it until we leave, literally!"

"Fortunately I only needed to remind you ten times to grab the upgraded version of the Morph-O-Ray" Clank pointed out. "Otherwise they wouldn't eventually turn back into human, and just stay poultry."

"No wonder there was a lot of clucking around here" Ratchet and Desmond then looked over two similarly dressed official looking military men walking towards them. The only difference was one was wearing a lighter color kind of uniform then the other.

"It will only be for about another 10 minutes John" Ratchet told him.

"I'm Henry!" The lighter uniform official pointed out. "Honestly how could you confuse me for him?" he pointed over at the official military man.

"Because... you come from the exact same first person shooter with the exact same kind of gameplay that everyone seems to be into these days for some reason?" Ratchet asked.

"We're completely different!" Henry screamed. "I'm a marine, while this bullet fodder over here's a lousy brit."

"I dare say do not besmirch the good name of my country, my intellectually inferior opponent" John said, shown sipping a cup of tea. "I dare say you Americans are all the same" he looked over at the others staring at him. "No offense to the rest of you."

"I'm not even from your planet" Ratchet pointed out.

"And I'm descended from Syrians which is pretty far from an American as you can get" Desmond pointed out.

"Hey who cares whose American and who isn't?" Henry asked. "The point is we're all here and..." he gasped and pushed away the others from the window. "Alright he's opening my gift!" he said excitedly. "Alright, show them why I'm the best at everything, even collecting gifts for sick kids. U.S.A, U.S.A!"

Michael was then shown opening a gift and looking at it confused seeing a pamphlet in front of him. "Why..." he then coughed a few more times, shaking as he continued reading "is this showing me how to operate a tank?" he asked himself.

The others turned to look at him. "What? Kids should know how to operate weapons as soon as possible. I mean by the year 2014 we're all going to be at war with the entire world anyway, so you should know now how to defeat your foe"

"Hey we were at war over 900 years ago, so that information is already irrelevant" Desmond pointed out.

"No the only thing irreverent around here is your gifts" Ratchet said with a laugh. "Unlike mine which-"

"Actually Ratchet he seemed equally confused at your offering for a present of a giant Lombraxian wrench as a holiday offering" Clank informed me.

The other three looked at Ratchet confused. "Hey wrenches aren't just weapon. You actually use them in everyday life for... fixing sinks and... Machines and what not."

"Oh you stereotypically brutish fellows" John said taking another sip of his tea. "Still with your minds on the Battlefield, no matter how inferior they are" he then shot a quick look at Henry who simply glared at him "while sophisticated gentlemen such as myself know what children truly want."

Michael then reached over and opened another gift, tearing through and seeing a cardboard tube, along with some crayons, candy, confetti and erasers as he looked at the packing. "How... is any of this a cracker?" He asked, coughing some more.

John looked at this annoyed. "Seems even you childhood yanks need to learn a few actual traditions worth keeping." he said taking another sip of his tea. "So is that it then?"

"Hmmm, wasn't someone else supposed to be here?" Ratchet asked.

"Affrmiative" Clank beeped. "David, also known as Iroquois Pliskin, aka Snake was supposed to be here."

"Well at least we can say we did better than him" Henry said. "Of course sale wise I've done better than all of you so I think that calls for another round of-"

"HO HO HO!" A voice was heard reverberating around the hospital room.

"Well maybe later. Can't think of that sort of thing around kids" Henry pointed out as the others just glared at him before looking back into the room.

"Who... who's there?" Asked the young child Michael, hugging his blanket tightly. "Someone... someone please..." he then coughed again loudly.

"NO NEED TO FEAR KID, I MEAN MICHAEL. FOR I AM NOT HERE TO HARM YOU." A thud was then heard on the floor, making Michael gasp in shock. The shock turned to confusion as someone appeared in front of the child. A man with a long white beard, red suit, large white gloves, black boots and red cap would be familar to most around the world.

"What the?" Henry said starring at the room in shock. "You mean to tell me Santa Claus is actually real?" He then blinked several times. "Jesus, first aliens, then people who think Call Of Duty is any good, now this. What other improbabilities will happen tonight?"

"That's not Santa" Desmond informed him. "And furthermore your western interpretation of Christ is so inaccurate it would take literally over nine centuries to explain what's wrong with the "son of god" you worship."

"Desmond is right, at least concerning eliminating the possibility of that being the real Saint Nicholas" Clank informed him.

Santa (or to be more accurate, obviously Snake in Santa attire) then walked closer to Michael as he was shown carrying a rather large sack over his back. "Still believe I'm here to harm you?" Snake asked in a very loud and boisterous tone, chuckling quite harshly so it seemed his fake belly was actually shaking.

Michael looked at this in awe and then smiled. "Is... it really you Santa?" he said, rubbing his eyes in disbelief. "Some kids said you...you weren't actually real."

"Ho ho ho, now you know which children have ended up on my Naughty list" Snake said with a wink as he laid the sack right next to the bed, looking seriously over at Michael. "I know what you've been through Michael. And how you've been suffering the last few days."

"How do..." Michael blinked before coughing some more. "Oh right you see everything but... but you should know I'm doing a lot better now" the kid tried to smile. "I've had a lot of visitors and... the doctors say I really am going to get well soon and... be able to go back to the orphanage."

"Sooner than you think, son" Snake said opening the sack. "I have a lot of gifts for you in here Michael" The child slowly went through them, looking in awe at the gifts as he tore through them and let them fall to all sides of the bed as Snake continued looking at him. "But there's a special reason I made a direct stop here."

Michael pulled away from looking at the gifts long enough to stare at Snake confused. "There is?" he asked, still shaking some as he hacked and wheezed for about twenty seconds.

Snake looked at this saddened, his eyes narrowing. _'This had better work' he_ thought to himself before putting on another smile. "Gifts and toys are one thing, but life is the greatest treasure of all. Getting to expierence it in all its splendor, without having to worry about being held back by illness or anything else, is what everyone should truly be asking for. Especially those who have reasons to doubt they may never get that."

"Wait you mean..." Michael held himself tightly, tears coming to his eyes. "You mean I'm going to... going to die? They said it might happen but... but..."

"There's no need to cry. Like I said I'm here to give you the greatest gift of all" Snake smiled as the door opened to the room. "And I have someone very special here to assist me."

Michael turned around and looked surprised at the figure in front of him, as the others near the window just looked enamored. Standing there was Samus, wearing a somewhat cleaving exposing and very tight red mini holiday dress (with white lace around the bottom that ended six inches above her knees) that seemed to sparkle red velvet, and had a white trim around the outfit. She was also wearing a black and yellow belt buckle, spiked red high heel boots that ran up her legs with white trimmings on the top, finger-less red gloves and a red puffball cap adorned on her head. Also compared to Samus's more natural complexion she was fairly made up (though not too heavily to be obnoxiously noticeable) with ruby red lips, pink rouge, light red eye shadow, and long eyelash extensions that rally accentuated her blinking, among other things.

"My word, that young lady is... things proper gentlemen would never say" John said still in a bit of shock.

"Then I'll say it" Henry said making some honking noises. "Man I want me a piece of that-"

"Shhh, if you're much louder you're blow our cover" Desmond said covering his mouth. "I do have to wonder who she is though."

"Hey maybe it's Nina Williams" Ratchet said examining her closely.

Henry moved Desmond away. "If that's the case, I need to go play me some more King of Fighters."

"That's not where she's from" Ratchet pointed out.

"With a body like that, who cares?" Henry asked.

Samus then slowly walked over to Michael, smiling down at him. "Hello" she said politely, kneeling down so she was eye level with the child. "You can call me Mrs. Claus if you want."

Michael then looked at her confused. "I thought you were supposed to be really old. You don't look old at all."

"Age for us is simply a mindset" Samus then reached over and gently yanked on Snake's fake beard. "And certain people have their mindset in places they shouldn't."

"It's not as bad as certain other people's mindsets" Snake said, lightly tapping Samus in the back of the neck. "You didn't forget the cure, did you dear?"

Samus quickly shook her head. "Of course not, honey. Have it right here" she then slowly took something out of her glove, revealing to be a needle with a yellow liquid in it.

"What... what is that?" Michael asked, looking fairly concerned.

"The very thing you're looking for most" Snake said with a smile. "Instead of having to go possible other treatments and staying in here for months on end worrying about things you children shouldn't ever have to think about, Santa has the one thing you actually need this Christmas season."

Michael looked at the two and then at the needle. "Is..." then then coughed again. "Is that for my..."

Samus nodded and lightly patted him on the head. "It is" she said, sitting on the bed right next to him. "As tireless and dedicated your nurses and doctors and officials are, there are some things that are out of their hands. But fortunately for you, they're in our hands."

"All you need to do is just take one shot Michael" Snake said, gently taking the needle from Samus and holding it. "And then your disease and all it's symptoms should go away in a few days or so, maybe even in time for the new year."

Michael gasped, moving back from the two looking shocked. "Wait you want me to..." he was then shown shivering, holding himself tightly. "I... I can't" he said crying some. "I... I can't take a needle. Not... not awake anyway" he then started coughing more as Samus reached over and hugged him lightly.

"There are things we have to do in live to get what we want" Snake said a bit coldly moving over to him. "And they usually are things we're afraid of and wouldn't ever want to do."

"But I... but I can't do this" he said crying some.

"It's not about can: it's about want, and though you may not want to, there's something you want a lot more" Snake then kneeled down in front of him on the other side, staring at him intently. "Freedom."

"Free...dom?"

"Yeah, the freedom to never have to worry about your live being cut short, about having to worry about these being your last days, about having to be stuck in a hospital bed watching other kids getting to go out and play while you are stuck here alone without anyone truly being able to understand what you're going through" Michael started to shiver less, as Samus continued holding him while Snake continued talking. "In a way, I've been in your position before. In some cases, my situation was a lot worse, but in others I admit it was better. I do know though that a part of you will do whatever it takes not to have that fear again. Whether that means continuing to fight and interact with people you may sometimes have issues with, or having to take a little shot in the arm once to not have to go through it a thousand more times later" he then pointed outside. "Because that's what will happen Michael. And during all those other shots and surgeries you will always have that fear, that pain running through you, wondering what might happen and how little time you may have left. Do you want that?"

Michael thought for a moment before shaking his head. "No... No I don't" He admitted, burying his head right below Samus's chest.

"Then don't let fear consume you now" he said holding up the needle. "Let us help you get rid of all that pain, of that worry and fear. So you can lead your life the way all kids should: not just inside pretending to have fun, but going out there and forging friendships and experiences you never could of imagined" he gestured at the window, the other Sony characters quickly ducking away.

Michael quickly looked over at Snake, and then at Samus smiling at him, before nodding. "Okay then..." he whispered. "I... I do want to be able to play outside and..." he then coughed several times more, pulling away from Samus. "And... not have this keep coming up."

"Good to hear" Snake then walked closer. Michael was shivering some as Samus grabbed his left hand, holding it tightly and squeezing it.

"You can just look at me if you want" she said sweetly, beaming another smile down at him.

"Thank you" Michael said focusing his attention on her as he slowly stopped shaking. Getting out a wipe and rubbing a little layer of alcohol on his arm, Snake then took the needle and injected it into Michael's arm. "Ahhhhhhhhhhh!" he cried out.

"Shhh shhh it's okay sweetie" Samus said squeezing his hand again. "The worst part's over" she reminded him.

"It... it is?" he asked.

Samus nodded, as Snake was shown taking out a cotton ball and a couple of Band-Aids, wrapping them around Michael's arm. "Sure is" she whispered, letting go of Michael's hand as she pointed over to his other one.

"Really?" he looked at the mark in his arm. "Wow that... that didn't hurt as much as I thought it would" he then felt his chest some as he coughed a bit. "So... so how long will it take before I'm better?"

"A few days" Snake reminded him. "So remember to just stay here and get as much rest as you can. And while resting enjoy those other gifts we got for you" Snake then winked at Samus. "Mrs. Claus got them for you personally."

I... I will" Michael said, feeling his chest again. "I... think I actually do feel a bit better now and..." he then smiled at Snake. "I know you'll do the rest for me Santa."

"No I just gave you what your body needed to fight the cancer" Snake pointed out. "So you're going to have to keep being strong for it to work. Think you can do that?"

"Sure thing" Michael said happily as he went over and hugged Snake's leg tightly. "Thank you so much Santa" he said happily, before going over and hugging Samus. "You too Mrs. Claus"

"No problem Michael" she lightly hugged him back. "We were happy to help out."

"Well with that taken care of we better head out" Snake said looking around. "Have my "rounds" to keep and all."

"Which means we expect you to keep resting in bed" Samus said pointing over at him. "Remember we'll be watching to make sure you keep staying good so..."

He nodded. "Don't worry. I won't do anything bad" he said, as honestly as a ten year old could muster before climbing back in the covers and waving at them. "Goodbye and thank you so much!"

"No problem. And a ho ho ho away we go!" Snake looked over at Samus who quickly ran over next to Snake. He grabbed her tightly and used his optical camouflage to quickly make the two of them disappear. Michael looked at this amazed before his eyes started to close and before he knew it, he had fallen down asleep on his bed.

"My word" John said, finally turning his attention back to the window. "That was quite an impressive show."

"Yeah, though what exactly was in that in that shot thing anyway?" Ratchet asked. "They didn't poison them or anything did they?"

"My sensors did not detect any poisons" Clank calmly stated. "Though it did indicate some mixtures that we have not come in contact with."

"Just like we shouldn't have to come in contact with you" the group looked confused to see Snake and Samus appear in front of them.

"Though thanks for harmlessly taking out the other workers around for us" Samus said, crossing her arms. "Would have been more of pain to have to sneak around and do all that with them being able to walk in the room anytime."

"Impossible!" Desmond said dramatically clinging to the wall. "I am a true assassin. There was no way you could of caught me spying so easily."

"Trust me "brother", she can spot these things much better than you could ever understand" Snake said with a smirk. "Besides I bugged the outside so we could hear what you dopes were chattering about the entire time."

"Then you know the truth my love!" Henry said dramatically as he suddenly grabbed Samus's arm, looking lovingly into her eyes. "You are a vision of the goddess, and one I would fight from Paris to New York to the terrorist heart land to keep safe." Samus simply rolled her eyes as he moved closer to her. "So what do you say Nina? I know you're busy trying to obtain to get the Soul Calibur, but trust me, I've got an even better sword you can play with-"

"What's your problem?" Samus said pushing Henry into a nearby tree, several feet away.

"Many dear girl, for he is an American" John said, sipping on some tea.

"Where did you get that from anyway?" Ratchet asked.

"I am British dear boy. It is one of our customs" John pointed out.

_'Huh, so maybe Peach is part British then' Samus_ said shaking her head. "Oh and by the way you dolts, I'm not Nina Williams."

"Oh... so you're her sister Vanessa then?" Ratchet asked.

Samus closed her eyes, lightly tugging on her nose. "Sure, why not?" she said, obviously annoyed.

"Well anyway fair companions you have bested us fairly in the event of gift giving" Desmond stated.

"It wasn't about the gift" Snake pointed out. "Weren't you paying attention to what I was saying?"

"Yes, though as an assassin one of the most eloquent things I know about life are the many ways to end it."

"Anyway, now that we're done here, you want to head back to Sony Headquarters?" Ratchet asked, pointing north. "They're going to have a big Christmas party for all who competed in the secret Santa gift giving, and I'm sure they'll give you guys a prize for what you did."

"Eh not really my thing" Snake said taking off waving his hand. "But feel free to have a happy holidays and what not on me, okay?"

"Yeah and a festivus for the rest of us, or however that goes" Samus said waving as well as she quickly took after Snake as the others just looked at them confused. "And where are you heading off too so quickly?" she asked.

"Getting away from those ingrates" he said, quickly taking off the Santa hat and coat as we see his regular attire under it. "And then ditching this get up. I really don't feel like dressing for that part more than I have to."

"Oh come on it wasn't so bad" Samus said, quickly running in front of him. "I think you made a pretty good Santa" she said poking him in the stomach. "You certainly had Michael fooled."

"Well it's easy to fool kids, especially those whose world views haven't turned sour yet" Snake then smirked some, scanning Samus up and down. "Though I have to say you definitely stole the show, Mrs. Claus."

Samus frowned at this, crossing her arms. "I'm still not sure why I had to dress up so seductively" she said pointing over at the hospital. "Even Michael knew what the real Mrs. Claus looks like."

"Yeah but sexy Mrs. Claus suits you much better" Snake pointed out.

"Yeah maybe for you" Samus shivered some. "This isn't exactly a good outdoor outfit for the winter you know."

"Pffft, that your only complaint? I can fix that for you" Snake quickly put the Santa coat around Samus, lightly rubbing her shoulders some. "That better?"

"A bit" she admitted, wrapping the coat around her tighter. "Still this wasn't what I meant when I said you needed to get into character."

"Hey I told you my terms for being Santa and you agreed to them. Why are you complaining now?"

"Probably because of the costume causing me to be hassled by that lecherous weirdo" Samus rolled her eyes. "Seriously, do I look like Nina Williams?"

"Hey probably better they didn't know who you were. Some of my "companions" can be rather derogatory to your type."

Samus narrowed her eyes. "My type?"

"You know, Nintendo Employees"

"Well I guess that's not a terribly bad N word" she remarked. "Still though, I think the experience was definitely worth it." she said, spinning around some as she beamed a huge grin. "We actually got to help save a life."

"Whose this we?" Snake said, actually smiling at Samus. "It was all you. You're the one who came up with the idea to call ahead to that scientist friend of yours who actually had a cancer cure."

"Well to be fair in my time we have much deadlier diseases to worry about than that." Samus then looked up. "I'm just glad Madeline had such quick delivery. Even if it was only enough for one shot."

"Hey sometimes you have to save people one at a time" Snake said sincerely. "And that was definitely all you so... thanks for that."

The intergalactic bounty hunter smiled at this and went over and hugged Snake. "You're really welcome" she said, as Snake gently returned the hug. "It just felt good to really make a difference you know? To not just save someone by blasting to dust or beating it into the ground but to actually truly improve someone's life. In a way I could actually see happening before my eyes" she then grabbed Snake's hand, looking at him seriously. "And it's not something I could of done alone."

"Hey all I did was just give one of those "cowboy" speeches to get the kid to do what was needed. That's all."

Samus shook her head. "No you did something even better Snake." Samus sighed; looking at the direction the smash manor would be in. "Even during this time of the year, it's hard for me to truly take the initiative, you know? I mean it's better than years back when I would of just been confused and annoyed about the holiday season and kept to myself, but it still took you wanting to do some good to invest me enough to help out."

"I don't really see that as anything worth noting" Snake admitted.

"It is though" Samus held herself tightly. "I don't know. I mean I know I can fight and destroy and investigate and so many other things but... sometimes it seems there are just some things I can't do. That I need others to help get me invested so I can improve someone's life. Like last year with the angelhood, and now with this."

"So what?" Snake asked. "I asked you for help because I knew you would be the one to find the real gift the kid was looking for. And someone who would, if needed, actually be able to try snapping some sense into me if that was needed." He smirked again. "Trust me, that's a lot harder to find around then you'd think, especially places where my reputation precedes me."

"Maybe that'd change if people knew that behind that gruff, the grump-esque at times hard exterior, there was actually a really nice, caring guy inside."

"You really think I want people to know that?" Snake asked looking over at Samus. "I mean would you want everyone to know that about you?"

Samus looked down confused, still holding herself tightly. "I use to think that I needed to appear emotionless and cold, but now... I don't know. Sometimes it just feels better with people knowing you care. I guess I shouldn't think that, especially with how many people could take advantage of that fact but well... I can't help feeling that way."

"Fair enough" Snake commented reaching into one of his pockets. "I promise I won't take advantage of it at least. Except maybe for a couple of things."

"Such as?" Snake quickly pulled her closer, pecking her lightly on the lips. Samus looked up to see Mistletoe dangling above her head. "Really?" Samus asked, quickly reaching up and grabbing it from Snake. "You really want to play that game?"

"Well, tis the season and all that."

"Oh please" Samus then smiled some. "You don't even know how to do it right" she then hung it above his head and kissed him passionately. Snake seemed surprised and returned the kiss, before the two pulled away looking at each other actually a bit embarrassed before looking back.

"Uh... Merry Christmas Samus" Snake finally responded.

"And... a merry one to you too David" she said, looking down a bit confused. "So... what do we do now?"

Snake thought for a second and shrugged. "I don't know. What do you want to do now?"

Samus thought for a second and started walking off, Snake following behind her. "Actually I kind of want to go to that party" she admitted, as the camera started to pan away as the two continued chatting.

"What? You mean the Sony character party?"

"Yeah, I mean why not? At least for a little while anyway. Then we can hang out with our family at the mansion tomorrow."

"Our family eh? Have thoughts of kids on the mind already?"

"You know what I mean when I say family."

"True. Though really, you want to go to that party?"

"Sure, why not? I mean technically we are dressed for it anyway."

"True, and knowing you it's only around this season you'll actually get dressed up for anything."

"Not true. Give me a situation where we can save someone's life without destroying anything, and I'll dress up for that."

"Really? Wow, you really want to make someone play good Samaritan."

"I shouldn't have to tease you so you'd want to help people."

"Maybe, but it is a good incentive."

"Careful Snake. Admit that to a lady and she owns you forever."

"I know. That's why I said it to you."

"And here I thought you were making improvements on your compliment problem."

"Who ever said it was a problem?"

"Well I say it's a problem."

"And what are you going to do about it?"

"Well I guess that's an issue I'm going to have to start being more decisive on if I ever want it to improve."

"Good luck with that. Mei Ling's been riding about that for years and nothing's come of that."

"True, but maybe a little hands on approach will actually help it turn around."

"Hmmm, hands on eh? I have to admit you've peaked my curiosity. Tell me more."

"Later. After we get onboard the gunship and you tell me where the party is, we can talk on you going out in the next few days and trying to pick out some actual gifts for your crew."

"Hey I told you I've already got it handled."

"Are they any better than the ones from last year?"

"... Define better."

"Yeah we are so going out to shop later on this week."

"Pfft no way you're getting me to shop right after Christmas. You know how many returns there will be to wade through?"

"I'm sure I can find a way to convince you."

"Maybe if it's hands on. Otherwise, you'd be better off going by yourself."

"I'd probably be better off going by myself anyway."

"Eh I can't completely deny that. Though I definitely wouldn't be telling you for hours to get better gifts. It'd probably be like "this is good enough, let's get out of here" or something like that."

"Heh, we'll see."

The two continued chatting all the way in the ship and even at the party and the rest of Christmas night. And though not exactly a couple, the seeds were planted. And the fact they really had changed a life for the better was definitely the seed that had made the rest of the holiday season worthwhile. For the only thing better than getting something is knowing you'll be around to continue feeling the warmth of Christmas, with family, friends, or others, for years to come.

THE END!

Well that's it. Hope you enjoyed that. definitely a lot longer then I thought it would be but I definitely enjoyed making that and hope you enjoyed reading it. So have a merry Christmas and remember to review and tell me what you enjoyed about it. I really want to hear that.

RAIDEN: What about me? (Is shown in a new cyborg body) You forgot to talk about Revengenance.

Rewhatnow?

RAIDEN: It's the new Metal Gear Solid game coming out. And I'm an upgraded cyborg ninja who has to-

Look man, I don't really care. You're not related to Smash Brothers.

RAIDEN: Hey neither were those other Sony characters you put in. At least Metal Gear Solid is related to Smash Brothers.

Yeah but they also have games that have come out. All we know about yours is you help save the world since Snake's in retirement, and now that you're an awesome robot ninja and Snake's story is over, people won't hate on you for replacing him.

RAIDEN: Yeah seriously what was with that anyway? I still get grilled about that even though it was 10 years ago.

Yeah well people sometimes just can't let things go.

RANDOM FANBOY: The Wii is a stupid name!

See what I mean. And with that this story is over everyone. Merry Christmas.

RAIDEN: And any other holidays you may celebrate.

Yeah that too. Bye.


End file.
